Now You Know

Doug Martsch | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 27, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: WEA/Reprise
• ASIN: B00006I09L
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,846 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great fusion of old-time slide guitar and modern electric crunch, October 11, 2005

By 

Mike Smith (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Now You Know (Audio CD)

Built to Spill's Doug Martsch, in the tradition of great musicians who do whatever they want whether or not their fans would instantly approve, has gone and recorded an amazing album of clanging, glass-on-steel slide guitar folk songs.
...Or are they rock songs?
"Woke Up This Morning With My Mind On Jesus" sure starts off like old-timey fieldworker gospel, but then this great tube-amp guitar crashes and clashes into the song, enveloping drums and vocals in a cloud of crunchy, "Down by the River"-style fuzz.
Ooh, it's good.
All the songs are, and I find myself especially liking the instrumentals--though Doug Martsch's voice is always a treat. Buy this album if you like old-time folk, delta blues, Built to Spill, indie rock, rock and roll, or Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere."
I don't think you'll be disappointed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solo release reveals strengths of Built to Spill frontman, October 14, 2002

By 

"jamesmonroe" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now You Know (Audio CD)

This record is often referred to as stripped down or raw, yet there is nothing low-fi, raunchy, or even "live" about the feel or production of the songs. Each track is as carefully put together and as cleanly produced as any Built to Spill release. What is absent from Doug's solo work is the heavy guitar layering and ambient keyboard noise that marked much of his Built to Spill work. What is left are the elements that have made all of his work gripping - haunting vocals, great songwriting, and ripping guitarwork. I suppose the songs could be called "stripped down" in that the guitars used are primarily acoustic but this only serves to illuminate how well Doug Martsch can actually play the instrument. So, I wouldn't pick this up hoping for something dirty or raw but I would pick it up looking for a minimal rock album revealing it's bluegrass roots and masterful songwriting.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another gem from Doug, September 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Now You Know (Audio CD)

Doug Martsch has yet to dissapoint me. He is, in my humble opinion, one of the great songwriters at work today. This, his first solo album, sans Built to Spill, is a mostly acoustic affair. Like all the reviews say, there is a blues influence here - but most reviewers miss the point. That doesn't make this album all that different from a Built to Spill record. In fact, the slide guitar and stomping blues influence have equally pervaded his work with the full band. The songwriting here, as a result, will seem warmly familiar to those initiated to his Built to Spill work.

The tunes here are all solid, and lyrics are typically witty and cynical. "Heart (Things Never Shared)" is a gorgeous ballad, while "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind on Jesus)" (the only thing here not written by Martsch) is a traditional spiritual/blues number which builds into a scorching guitar workout for Martsch.

Speaking of guitar work, guit-heads out there might want to check this album out on those grounds alone. Other than Leo Kottke, I've never heard another slide guitar player so good.

This album may not be the masterpiece that Built to Spill's Keep it Like a Secret was, but its fine on its own terms. Worth checking out, no doubt!